Portland Trail Blazers

From Hoopedia

logo

1 Franchise Name History
2 External Links

Franchise Name History

On February 24, 1970, just two weeks after Portland was granted an expansion franchise by the National Basketball Association, Harry Glickman, then executive vice president of the club, announced a public “name the team” contest. A panel of judges was selected. Harry said he no longer is able to recall names of everyone on the panel but remembers Doug Baker, a popular daily columnist of The Oregon Journal, as one of its members.

The public was invited to mail their entries to the team’s offices. Harry said there were boxes and boxes of entries mailed in. “There had to be 10, 000,” he remembers. The most popular of the entries was “Pioneers” but the new franchise had said at the beginning of the contest team nicknames of any Northwest colleges or universities would be ruled out. Portland’s Lewis & Clark College had already claimed the Pioneers nickname.

The nickname of Portland Trail Blazers, submitted by 172 contestants, was selected by the committee as the most suitable for the club. The new name was announced at the Seattle-New York game in Portland in 1970.

"We are delighted," stated Glickman. "We feel that Trail Blazers reflects both the ruggedness of the Pacific Northwest and the start of a major league era in our state."

[edit]

Franchise History

The Portland Trail Blazers entered the NBA in 1970. After a typical period of expansion blues during which the team languished at the bottom of the standings, the Trail Blazers turned into one of the league's most solid franchises. In 1977, after only seven seasons in the league, the Trail Blazers claimed the NBA Championship. Led by center Bill Walton, the teams of that era induced "Blazermania" in Portland and introduced the manic condition to the rest of the league. Read More...

[edit]